Supporting device



H. GRAY SUPPORTING DEVICE Oct. 6, 1936.

Filed Aug. 25, 1934 INVENTOR v Hdw- GA.

Patented Oct. 6, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to asupporting device and more particularly to a stocking supporting device.

Round garters are unsatisfactory for many 5 purposes, especially for athletic use, stage dancing, and activities requiring active movement, since they tend to slip down, restrict the circulation, and are uncomfortable. While a large number of different devices have been proposed for supporting stockings from the waist by means of garter belts and otherwise, no entirely-satisfactory means has heretofore been provided which permits freedom of movement andatthe v same time equalizes all pulls and strains to which the device is subjected. The vertical supporting members which have heretofore been used do not maintain a constant tension for all postures and tend, when slack, to fold or gather in a bunch, interfering with the smoothness of the wearers costume and permitting the stockings to slip down and wrinkle. Furthermore, where two stocking fastening means, which are intended to be somewhat spaced in use, are attached to a single vertical support, the two means tend to assume a straight line and, in moving toward one another, cause angular movement of the stocking, and form gathers between the two fastening means.

By my invention, I have provided a device in which each stocking fastening means is hung from the lowest apex of a triangular support, one side of which has a sliding engagement with one of the other sides, whereby the device accommodates itself to all changes in posture by varying the size of the supporting triangle, and all pulls and strains are evenly distributed between oppositely extending members and equalized.

Other features and advantages of my invention will appear from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment of my invention which is shown in the accompanying drawing, but my invention is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated and described herein, but only by the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view of the device shown in extended position;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the device in use; and

Fig. 3 is a side view of the device in use.

In the specific embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, my supporting device or garter belt comprises two cross-pieces I0 and II and the connecting pieces I2 and I3, and I4 and I5 interconnecting respectively the upper end of cross-piece I 0 and'the lower end of cross-piece II, and the upper end of cross-piece II with the lower end of cross-piece I 0.

Heretofore, it has been considered necessary to form supporting devices, such as garter belts and the like, out of elastic material in order to take up the strains caused by change in the posture of the user and the pull exerted on the stocking fastening means. Because of the ability of my device to equalize and distribute all strains in the manner and for the reasons hereinafter set forth, it is not necessary to make either the cross-pieces or the connecting pieces of my device of elastic material, and I prefer to use a nonelastic material such as satin ribbon, since it has. the advantages of lightness and coolness and is more comfortable.

The cross-pieces l0 and II are preferably made of two strips of ribbon sewed together as indicated at l6, except in the center portion indicated at 20 I! where the two strips are not secured together.

In forming the garment supporter, one strip of one cross-piece is interposed between two strips of the other cross-piece, and the outer portions of the strips constituting each cross-piece are then 25 sewn together leaving the center portions unsewed. It will thus be apparent that, while the cross-pieces are interengaged, either cross-piece is free to move with respect to the other through a distance corresponding with the unsecured central portion of the strips indicated generally at IT. The device is thus capable of adjusting itself to all bodily movements and changes in posture of the user without interfering with the means about to be described whereby all strains exerted upon the 35 device are evenly distributed between two oppositely extending members and equalized.

The upper ends of the cross-pieces l0 and H are joined together at the back of the user, and, for this purpose, any suitable fastening means 40 may be employed such as the button l8 shown at the upper end of the cross-piece l0 and the buttonhole l9 shown at the upper end of the cross-piece H.

The interconnecting members l2 and I 3, and I4 and I5, are joined at the top to the respective ends of the crosspieces adjacent to the point where said ends are fastened together, and they extend forwardly and downwardly, being joined at their lower ends to the lower portion of the respective cross-pieces at the points of intersection 20, 2|, 22, and 23. It will be apparent that each connecting piece, together with the upper end of one cross-piece and the lower end of the other cross-piece, forms a triangle, the

size of which will be varied by any relative movement between the crossed-pieces l0 and I I.

The stocking fastening means 24, 25, 26, and 21 are hung from the respective points of intersection 20, 2|, 22, and 23 respectively, which constitute the lowest apexes of said supporting triangles, along lines which, if continued upwardly, would bisect the angles terminating in the respective apexes. When the device is in use, the upper portion is drawn outwardly, thus modifying the shape of the triangles, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and causing the fastening means to assume a position perpendicular to the top of the stocking to be supported, as illustrated in Figs; 2"

and 3.

another since each is hung from the apex of a separate triangular support.-

The triangular supporting means provided for herein has the advantage of distributing the pull exerted on each stocking fastening meansevenly between one cross-piece and oneconnecting piece. Since the cross-piece and the connecting piecethrough which; the pull from each stocking fastening means is distributed in each instance extend in opposite directions around the users thighs and hips, and terminate in the opposed upper ends of the cross-pieces l0 and H adjacent the point where they are fastened together,

. the pull exerted by each of said pieces is equalized and there is no unequalized strain on any portion of the device. 1

If desired, any suitable means for adjusting the length of the stocking fastening means 24, 25,-

- 26, and 21 may be employed, such, for example,

as the slidable members 28, which may be secured thereon in a manner well known in the art.

What I claim is:

1. A hose supporting device comprising a pair of strips to form a belt for encircling the waist, said strips being inclined in opposite directions and intersecting in front of the wearer and being slidable at the point of intersection, means for enabling the upper ends of said strips to be secured together at the wearer's back, connecting pieces uniting the adjacent ends of said strips, and hose-engaging members attached to said strips adjacent said connecting pieces, the arrangement being such that when the device is in Thereis no tendency for the'fasteningi means 24 and 25, or 26 and 21 to move toward one I place the connecting pieces extend forward and downward from the back to the sides of the wearer.

12. A hose supporting device comprising a pair of strips to form a belt for encircling the waist, said strips being inclined in opposite directions and intersecting in front of the wearer and being slidable at the point of intersection, means for; enabling the upper ends of said strips to be 58-- cured together atthe wearers back, connecting pieces uniting the upper end of each stripto the lower end of the other strip and to a pointon the other strip adjacent said lower end, and hoseengaging members attached to the lower portion of each strip adjacent each connecting-piece, the arrangement being such that when said device is in place the connecting pieces extend from the back forward and downward to the sides of the wearer.

HELEN GRAY. E 

